California Fence Company Excellent article. I've already stared using cloth towels instead of paper napkins. I use a lot of stainless steel utensils for cooking and serving. I hope to induce more eco friendly things into my home.

Melanie Ryan Great article! In addition to lowering bottled water use, (and also to enhance bland water taste), make your own "vitamin water" using your kitchen's herb garden. My favorite is watermelon + basil, perfect for summer!

Dura Supreme Cabinetry Lyptus is a great choice! It actually resembles Mahogany with its grain texture and rich, re coloring but it has more color variation. I think the color variation makes it more visually appealing than mahogany personally. – Mandi @ Dura

Here are a few kitchens that use Lyptus...

Dura Supreme Cabinetry Bamboo veneers are known for their characteristic color and graining, with the recognizable knuckles at the growth joints. Dura Supreme’s Bamboo veneers are sliced for feature a straight, narrow-stave grain pattern and are steamed to create a warm brown color (caramelized). This works great in designs with a planned vertical or horizontal grain patterns.

The steaming process naturally darkens the sugar compounds present in the plant to create a warm brown color without the use of dyes or stains. Bamboo is an extremely fast growing grass, reaching maturity in 5-7 years for sustainable harvesting. Considered a rapidly renewable resource, Bamboo stalks regenerate from the same root system within 3-7 years. During regeneration, the root system remains intact preventing soil erosion. Bamboo is an extremely stable, dense and strong material that remains very color stable with age and sunlight exposure.

I think Bamboo Veneers look fabulous in contemporary designs like this one… Mandi @ Dura

wtfruta ANYWAY, I grew up in a house with concrete floors, and they are killers on the back, legs, and feet. We had an 8 room ranch built on a slab, no subfloor, just asbestos (yes, asbestos)thin tile over concrete. It looked much like the elementary school I went to. Those floors gave my poor mother such problems. Standing in the kitchen cooking for a couple hours produced swollen, sore feet and an aching back. My parents lived there for 35 years. They had foot, knee, back problems they could not get over! Not to mention, the bumps and bruises we children had from just playing and being children. Everyone in our tract house neighborhood put wall to wall carpeting down, but in a family of asthmatics, that was not sensible. I will never, ever, have concrete floors again.

Ellessebee We initially chose cork flooring for our new kitchen because of its resilience - easier on the body and the dishes. We are putting it over radiant heat in the floor and I'm not sure how the cork will affect the heat. I'd love to get input on this. Also, I chose a click plank floor because we don't want to glue down to the radiant heat panels. I was told that a glue-down floor would require a layer of plywood or luan that would be nailed (carefully) into the subfloor with the heat tubing and then the flooring would be glued to that. I didn't want to add yet another layer of subfloor to further insulate against the heat so the floating floor seemed like a good option. I found click panels both with rectified edges that I liked but when I went to order I was told they are not only available with beveled edges. In general, I don't like beveled edges on any floor because they trap dirt and are harder to clean. They also break up the smooth continuous look of the floor by emphasizing each plank or tile. But I'm wondering if with cork it means a better seal and moisture resistance or easier installation. Why would a manufacturer switch from rectified to beveled edges? Any information on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

frenchdecor @Laura are you serious, never did that (as you mention) and never had "stomach flu". All this recommendations make me think how humanity survived without fridges and science researches for millenniums? I am more worried how come salad dresser is good for 6 months and milk for couple of weeks as natural milk stays fresh only 1 day in cool place. People are more brain washed than ever before. Why this experts would not explain us total obesity? I have my own explanation with fact. As we immigrated to Canada I "jumped" from XS to M size in couple of months and remain the same size, though I cook fresh meals, no junk food or beverages, and active. However, I am going to Europe for vacation, as rare guest partying (eating!!!) with friends and relatives for couple of weeks and lose weight. That's obviously the quality of food only, as I am not working there or worry, just eat and rest stress free.
Article I found very useful, good job.

ankelly301 Thanks for the ideas! We are actually a few years away from redoing our kitchen as our current remodel is our bathroom but I have a countertop toaster oven that I do most of my oven-style baking in. I hardly ever use my oven. I'd love to replace it with 2 smaller ovens.

I am so conflicted about gas though because I love gas stoves and I have a ceramic top now but still wish I had gas. Electric does make better sense though in terms of using a renewable resource.

Barbara Yamasato How to make your own concrete countertop? What cement mix and mold?

Attention to Detail Home Remodeling Barbar Yamasato, making concrete countertops isn't for the amateur. It very hard work, very very heavy and if you don't get your mix correct, it will not be an attractive countertop no manner how you buff it and it could crack. That being said, if your up for the challenge, my mix is:
1 part cement (type 1 or 2)
2 parts rock (3/8-inch pea gravel)
3 parts sand
Water
Water reducer and pigment
Any product that you would like to add(ie, broken glass from old lens of a traffic light)

the moulding I use is 3/4" dual-sided laminate melamine (laminate veneer is on both sides)

I hope this helps. I would find a person that has experience in concrete countertops if this is for a client or your home.
David-

middleofnowhere These are actually very expensive tiles. I found a place used on HGTV called Mineral Tiles, and they're recycled glass mosaics start at $6-7 per square foot! If you're doing a budget kitchen and bathroom makeover like me...

jacksonbeth @Phil, I'm thinking of doing this for my backsplash: http://www.web-don.com/our-products/adhesives-tools-misc/kitchen-palette/ its basically a new product that allows you to have more control over the backsplash.